And the bands played on.
After a one-year hiatus, forced by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Litchfield Parade of Bands returned to town last week, bringing 13 high school marching bands from around the state to Litchfield streets, in addition to Litchfield’s own Marching Dragons.
The one-year break didn’t seem to hurt interest in the event, as large, appreciative crowds gathered around the 11-block route that ran from 10th Street south along Armstrong Avenue to Fifth Street, east to Gilman Avenue and north to 10th.
“It was absolutely fabulous,” The Chamber executive director Judy Hulterstum said of the event. “It was such an exciting time to see all the people come out after the pandemic and enjoy themselves.”
Bands performed three times along the route, the third performance area being the judging box.
Owatonna High School marched away with the two pieces of Parade of Bands hardware this year — winning both the Grand Champion and Peoples’ Choice awards.
